Chinese Business Sentiment, Manufacturing Rise In November

By Teresa Rivas

Good news out of China today, as two preliminary surveys of business sentiment and manufacturing in November were bullish.

First up, the Flash MNI China Business Sentiment Indicator rose last month to 53.57, up from 51.86 in October, for the third month of expansion. (The flash indicator is a leading indicator–based on roughly 80% of responses–for the final MNI China Business Sentiment Indicator, released on the last Friday of every month.)

Also out today, the HSBC Flash China Manufacturing PMI rose to 50.4 in November, up from 49.5 in October, marking a thirteen-month high. HSBC’s Flash China Manufacturing Output Index logged in at 51.3, compared to 48.2 in October, also a thirteen-month high. (The PMI is published one week before final PMI numbers, based on 85%–90% of total PMI survey responses).

“As November’s flash reading of HSBC manufacturing PMI bounced back to the expansionary territory for the first time in 13 months, this confirms that the economic recovery continues to gain momentum towards the year end,” said Hongbin Qu, Chief Economist, China & Co-Head of Asian Economic Research at HSBC in a press release. “However, it is still the early stage of recovery and global economic growth remains fragile. This calls for a continuation of policy easing to strengthen the recovery.”

About Emerging Markets Daily

Emerging markets have been synonymous with growth, but the outlook for individual nations is constantly changing. Countries from Brazil and Russia to Turkey face challenges including infrastructure bottlenecks, credit issues and political shifts. Barrons.com’s Emerging Markets Daily blog analyzes news, data and research out of emerging markets beyond Asia to help readers navigate the investment landscape.

Barron’s veteran Dimitra DeFotis has been blogging about emerging market investing since traveling to India and Turkey. Based in New York, she previously wrote for Barron’s about U.S. equity investing, including cover stories and roundtables on energy themes. Dimitra was among the first digital journalists at the Chicago Tribune and started her career as a police reporter at the Daily Herald in the Chicago suburbs. Dimitra holds degrees from the University of Illinois and Columbia University, where she was a Knight-Bagehot Fellow in the business and journalism schools. She studies multiple languages and photography.